I'm Exhausted

I spent all day yesterday at the United Nations. Huh?

I was invited by some students in Middle School to go the the U.N with their Model UN after school team. I thought ummm, I have to work and it's really early but maybe it would be interesting. So I decided to go.

I got to the entrance of the UN around 10. The security wasn't soooo tight. Just the normal metal detectors and a lot of dogs. I waited around for the kids to show up (about 20). We then had a private tour of the UN!!! I mean we were in the Security Council chambers, The General Assembly, learned all kinds of interesting facts. It was amazing. I used to eat lunch on the grounds of the UN but I'd never gone inside. It was really cool. I mean REALLY COOL!

After the tour we walked over to 42nd and 2nd to some offices where the kids were to put on a simulation U.N. Security Council meeting. They were debating the India/Pakistan conflict that took place in the late 90's over land between the two countries. Let me just say, it was Amazing! These were 6th, 7th and 8th graders and after about 2 1/2 hours of debating they came up with some actual resolutions. Like really smart and thoughtful and respectful resolutions. I was super impressed. Maybe they should be forwarded to the respective countries!

I left the offices and headed straight downtown to work. I was SO exhausted! I didn't even do anything.(Oh, I finished my golf shirt. I'm not showing it just yet. I think I might redo the collar because it seems about 4 rows to big.)

When I got to work it was completely dead up until about 12:30am. Then, of course, it got busy. I didn't get home until 4am. ugh. Double Ugh! SO T I R E D. This morning I had a drs. appointment really early so I couldn't even sleep in. I feel like a zombie. I must be pms!

I can't decide what to knit. I was thinking of a bikini out of some of the Fixation I have. I think I have about 4 or 5 balls. That should be enough, right. I of course have to keep knitting on the TS stuff. The progress is slow. But no need to talk about it. Just know that I'm knitting like a mad woman and when I'm not working on it, I'm thinking about it. Slightly stressful.

I had a feeling about this...

Nice fashioning:


Nice i-cord with one row buttonholes placket:



Nice size 8 women's golf shirt:


Not a nice size 44-46 men's golf shirt:


Oh well, I knew this was going to happen. I did my swatch. Took my gauge and proceeded to begin knitting this golf shirt. I never read through the pattern because A. It was Elizabeth Zimmerman's B. I assumed it was going to be easy peasy - no changes needed and C. I'm an idiot. Well all three were true. The pattern is fantastic and easy and no changes were made....The only problems were with me. I never thought it might be for a woman and I of course just knit away figuring my gauge would be maybe a teeny bit tighter but would ultimately be ok. WRONG. It was going to be a gift. I guess it will be a gift for someone else. The good news is that if I'd made it the correct size I would definitely run out of yarn. I have 3 balls left and I still have the collar to go. My gauge go so much tighter because of the yarn and because it was knit on circs. I'm such an idiot. Before I block this thing I'm going to try to figure out percentage-wise how much tighter I knit when I'm on circular needles. It might be a handy number for me to know.

So my weekend was lovely. I was at the beach but of course I was knitting some production stuff. No need to show that at this point....We've all seen it enough. I'm going to the dermatologist on thursday so I didn't want to get a mad tan and then get into trouble so I shied away from the sun (which was ok with me.) There were a lot of folks at the house and we had a ton of fun playing games....I'm still the undefeated champ at Scattegories - although I don't love that game. We had a super fun time playing cranium and taboo and bogle and just hanging out and eating really fantastic food. It was a really fun time. Thanks!

I've been sort of unsuccessful selling off my yarn. I made this golf shirt out of some of the sale yarn. I'm glad I'm using it. I actually really like it. So I'm going to go stash diving and come up with some other things to knit from it. Who knows, maybe I can make a dent in it and then put some up for sale in a little while and have better luck. I mean, I did sell some...Thank you. I'm happy about that. I was just hoping to clean it out. I can't give it to school until the fall semester starts so...I guess I'll be designing with this yarn during the summer. OK.

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Now that I've delivered the three projects to VK, I can get back to the Tom Scott production pieces. Woo hoo! Tom is so sweet he sent me the nicest spreadsheet of all of the gagillion pieces that I'm to knit. How thoughtful! Just kidding. I'm actually ok with all of the knitting. I kind of have it down as to how long each piece takes to knit. I'm going to try to work from the biggest (longest knitting time) to the smallest (least knitting time) that way it's like I'm working downhill. My summer of knitting. The fun thing is that I'm meeting with him next week to begin his spring '08 line. FUN! I can't wait.

In my Tuesday sewing class I finished the major portion of my dress. I'm not really interested in this dress. I only made it because I was waiting for another pattern to arrive in the mail (which it never did and I'm now in a dispute over). Here it is. I've added some trim to the empire waistline. Obviously I have to trim it and clean it up. I have to hem the sleeves and the bottom. I plan on wearing this over leggings or pants. The armholes are a little small. I mean they'll work but I'm just not loving this thing. It was a teaching pattern. I learned that I don't like it.



Since I wanted to finish up the VK pieces in a hurry I relegated the golf shirt to subways only and maybe a little at work. Not bad, huh?



I think I have about an inch to go before I divide for the armholes. Then I'll start the icord placket and finally add the collar. Not so much left! I think I'll make my deadline. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the ribbed bottom. I might turn it under and make a hem. I'll see what it looks like after the blocking. When I blocked the swatch it became really solid. It seems like it actually got firmer top to bottom. Weird for cotton/linen. So I'll decide that later. I like the ribbing because I'm going to do the same at the end of the sleeves. It would be nice to have it in both places. I just don't want it to flip up. I'm 80% sure that it won't but I'll have to wait and see...

I've been asked about how I knit so fast. Well, I think it has to do with muscle memory, determination and time. Because I work at night I have a little routine that I do in the morning. I usually get up around 8. Sometimes earlier. I have my coffee and turn on the morning news and knit until around 11. That's a solid 3 hours of straight knitting time. If I'm on a deadline I'll just keep knitting. I have great subway time too. It makes commuting super easy because usually no one bothers me and I generally have the seat next to me free until there just aren't any seats left. People are mildly intimidated by the flying needles! The determination is key. There are lots of times where I want to not be knitting but I just push through and get it done. I'm a little weird that way.

I knit both ways but when I'm seriously knitting and want it to look absolutely perfect, I throw. My knitting and purling are the same so I'm proud to say that it looks almost machine knit. My only problem is that sometimes I knit too fast which causes some tension issues. Those issues are usually smoothed out during blocking but when the piece HAS to look amazing I try to go a little slower.

I just love knitting. I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not knitting. Sometimes my apartment suffers but I usually get to the point where I just start cleaning everything out. Kind of like getting rid of my stash. I'm really trying to clean it out. My knitting has changed over the years and I want a different stash. I'm not buying yarn until I get it cleaned out. I'm going to continue to list my yarn on Destash, Craigslist and ebay. I want it gone. If those avenues just don't work I'm donating it to schools in the fall. End of story.

That's it for now. I'm heading out of town on Saturday and I'll be bringing a shopping bag full of yarn with me. Nothing like a little production knitting at the beach! Have an excellent holiday weekend if I don't blog before I leave.

Delivery Day!

Well, tomorrow I'm finally delivering the fair isle cardi. I've done all of the non-knitting finishing of it. I ended up having to buy the fabric that I needed for it at Mood (of Project Runway fame). What a nightmare it was trying to find the right fabric. It still isn't what I wanted. But it's completed. I'm going to write the pattern (actually just clean it up and input it into my computer) right after I post this entry.

I've finished the Baby Alpaca number. It took TWO DAYS to dry. Holy cow. And now it smells very alpaca-y. I guess baby alpacas shouldn't be left out in the rain. Particularly if it's a little chilly outside! They'll catch a cold because they'll never get dry!

The third thing that I'm delivering I haven't even blogged about. I picked up the yarn on Monday. Oh, yesterday!! I'm using a SWTC yarn. It's actually been a NIGHTMARE. There have been knots way too often. The other weird thing is that there have been long strands wound into the balls. So I knit off the skein and all of a sudden the active yarn ends. Grrrr. Anyway, that piece is getting a wash right now. Hopefully it will be dry in the morning and I'll be delivering it too. I have to write up the pattern for this one too. But that's ok. It's pretty easy.

I sold a few lots of yarn from Destash. It's still on there but I think it's a page or two back. So check it out if you haven't....

I had another Stitch & Pitch meeting today but I can't write about it because I'm too tired and I want to get going on the patterns so that I can go to bed!! I'll get back to you about it next time.

Check Out Sale Yarns!!

I just posted a ton of yarn for sale on this blog. Check it out! : )

Dave & Busters

Am I the only person that didn't know of this place? I recently became aware of it because The Girls Next Door threw a party with Hef at the one in Las Vegas. Then I was invited to a party to the one on 42nd st. I went tonight. 1. The food was shockingly fantastic. I mean it, really good. 2. It wasn't full of hamsters like I thought it would be. 3. It was almost fun in the arcade. 4. It was clean. So yay.
Work this weekend was tedious.

I made up the newest VK sweater. I finished the sleeves (they're short) before going out. And I just finished writing up the pattern. I can't decide if I should block it or not. (The horror!) It looks good as it is but I'd like to get it to the correct measurements. However, I'm worried about the yarn. It's super squishy and I think it might mess up the beautiful cables. Maybe I'll give the section in question a little spritz and pin it out.... I'm delivering it tomorrow!

I wrote the pattern for the other VK sweater last night at work. I can't drop it off tomorrow because the fabric that I bought last week for the pockets looks like crap. I need to find better fabric and finish it up. I really like this one.

I'm cruising along on the E.Z. golf shirt. It's really killing my hands. I'd like this to be completed by June 1. Shouldn't be a problem. I'm hoping that blocking evens out the stitches. I actually know that it does based on my washed and blocked swatch. The fabric that this yarn makes is pretty amazing. Pics to come.

Catching up on the HBO Sunday night line up...

E.Z's Golf Shirt and Other Things

I couldn't take the taupe on Wednesday. So I picked up one of my favorite reads and a few skeins of linen/cotton yarn, some needles and headed off to work. I decided on the golf shirt. Here's where I ended up after a night of hard bartending! I'm using size 6 needles and some Filatura Lanarota "Royal Linen". My hands are raw! I thought the Eco-Wool was rough! This stuff is not only rough but it's also slippery so I had to keep tugging on my stitches which of course tightened up my gauge. I intended this for someone but it might have to be for someone else due to sizing. We'll see. I blocked my gauge and it seems like it's going to have a lot of horizontal stretch but not too much vertical growth. Strange but that's what it seems like?







I found some faux fur at Daytona Trimmings for my VK sweater. I've sewn one side down but need to sew the other side. It's kind of a pain in the neck so I'm going to do it over the weekend. I'll also write up the pattern and turn it in on Monday!




And finally, I stopped by Vogue Knitting and picked up the GORGEOUS yarn for a little project. I picked up 30 balls. I've used 12 so far! I think this project will take about 14. I would LOVE to keep all the leftovers but I am required to turn in all the ball bands when I turn in the piece. Rats!! The only problem is that it's so squishy that I think it's going to grow substantially. But my o my is it soft. Particularly after the linen and the eco wool. This is nice! I'll be finishing this up this weekend too ( I hope) and delivering it as well on Monday. The pattern for this is a snap.


One of the skeins. YUM!



My pile of knitting.

I have to say I'd like to get out of the taupe/grey for a while. It would be nice to knit with say a ballet pink or something??????

Have a nice weekend. I'll be knitting and calculating and formatting and printing oh and bartending!

Block(ing) Party!

I'm sitting here looking at 3 sweaters blocking. No wonder my neck/upper back hurts. I've been knitting like crazy! Unfortunately I can't show you the one that's NOT a Tom Scott sweater. Hopefully it will show up in a VK magazine! This sweater still needs some embellishements but the knitting portion is finished. And, it looks pretty nice.

BLOCKING IS HEAVEN! It completely cleans up the garment. And it fluffs up the yarn.

On the other hand, sewing blows. I hate sewing. My class yesterday was TERRIBLE. I AM A HORRIBLE SEW-ER (ist?). I couldn't get my 500 ft. zipper into my dress. I kept getting bubbles. The fabric has some lycra in it so it just doesn't cooperate. GRRRRRR. Then once that was in I had to put in the sleeves. The whole gathering but don't have any pleat-y looking things showing on the public side stinks. WHAT? So the top part (in the seam) is gathered but the exact spot where my seam goes is flat....uh, ok. I'll be waiting until next week. Plus, I hate the dress that I'm making. I'm only making it because some total jerk hasn't sent my ebay pattern since APRIL. Yes, I've sent in a complaint.

Anyway, I have 3 beautiful sweaters blocking with another on deck. I have about 4" to go before it's finished. Then guess what? I get to cast on for another one! yay! Doing production knitting really takes the wind out of your sales.

oops, I did it again!

M & J didn't have the fur trim that I needed. Neither did Daytona or Tinsel Trading. So I headed to my next stop on today's tour. Cartier.

While I was at Cartier getting my watch fixed, a lovely woman seated next to me heard me on the phone looking for the trim. She said she might know of a place and proceeded to make a couple of calls. I left her my # and she said she'd text me with any info she gets. HOW NICE WAS THAT?

And, the nice customer service person that was helping me with my watch gave me a Cartier watch cleaning kit....gratis. HOW NICE WAS THAT? So my watch is fixed and it's clean. Bonus.

After Cartier I headed over to Kunokuniya to check out the amazing knitting, crochet, sewing, craft books. They were as usual....STELLAR.

I bought this one. It has 2 sweaters that I LOVE. and a couple of other interesting pieces.



This is a mens knitting book. However, I think some of the sweaters are more suited for women. SCORE!



I also asked them to look up an out of print book for me. Sadly, it's still out of print. I've seen this book once. I fell in love and have been obsessed with it ever since.


Then I walked up 5th. When I passed the Abercrombie store they had live HOT MODELS standing in the doorway causing a serious comotion. It was hilarious.

I kept heading north on 5th and somehow ended up at Bergdorf Goodman. I couldn't pass up a couple of things. I actually had 5 pairs of shoes I was choosing from. But thankfully I narrowed it down to these two. Phew! It was still rather pricey. I guess I better get knitting!!



After BG I headed west across town to the Time Warner Center. Hit up a few places and ended up at Whole Foods. Then jumped on the train and headed home.

It was absolutely gorgeous today. Oh and I did get a few undergarments! yay.

Fur Trim, eeeek!

I have a super busy day today. I have to run so many errands. The thing about running errands in NYC is that you seriously have to plan it out. The last thing that you want to do is to be getting on the subway going uptown, downtown, across town. Best to go in one direction and then come back the other way.

So, I've already hit the post office and ordered a pick up from UPS. Someone bought some yarn off of Craigslist. But...she's in California? Go figure. Anyway, check. Next I'm off to drop off a bunch of bags to Goodwill.....It's a total pain in the butt. I'll be happy when all of the shopping bags are out of here though. Then it's over to M&J because I have to get some FUR TRIM for the VK sweater. eeeeewwwwww. I don't believe in killing animals for fashion. But what can I do, they want it and I said yes to the job. yick. OK, after that I'm going to the Japanese bookstore in Rock center. I'll be dropping my watch off at the fancy watch/jewelry store before I go to the bookstore. It stopped keeping time so it's getting a tune up. It's practically across the street from the bookstore so easy peasy. Then, let's see, I'll be right near Bergdorf Goodman. Sounds like I need to check out the summer styles. Plus I need some new undergarments and I like what they've got! Maybe, Maybe I'll check out the 2nd floor shoes! Then it's off to pick up my watch all shiney and new. Then Whole Foods or Citarella for dinner fixin's then I think home to wait for the nice UPS guy to pick up the box. It's absolutely gorgeous out so this should be fun! Hmmm. Maybe I'll find a yarn store on my way......

I have a few auctions on ebay that are closing in about 2 hours. So I guess I'll see what happened with those when I get home too!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm not with my mom today. (I wish I was.) A shout out to all the moms...Happy Mother's Day.

I picked up Knit.1 today when I was out. I like this top. I wonder if it stays up? I might whip one up to see.



I finished the 2nd Tom Scott sweater the other day. Here's the beginning of the 3rd. woooo.




And the yarn came from Cascade for the VK sweater. Now I can knit up the last few inches. Then finish up the sweater for delivery.



That's it. I'm pooped. It was a very long weekend. I'm glad it's over.

Oh, thanks for all of the crossed body parts. Unfortunately it didn't work out this time. But the crossings were totally appreciated. Thank you!

It's a Baseball Bat, No it's a Knitting Needle

Yes, a baseball bat/knitting needle. Not the best sketch. In my defense, I didnt' draw this beauty. But it is in fact what I want Louisville Slugger to make for Stitch & Pitch!

What do you think?



Nice, huh?

In other news, I knit a sweater at work last night. This is getting ridiculous. Ok, not the whole thing but exactly 23" of it. There is a brief period between winter/spring/summer where the weather in NYC turns incredibly beautiful. We are in said period. The establishment where I work is in a basement and it's the last place any normal NYer wants to be this time of year. So for about 2 weeks it's not so busy. Hence, a sweater in a night (or 23" of it.) I'm very sick of taupe and Eco-Wool. But since I've been known in some circles as the terminator, I will knit these sweaters until they are done. 2 down. A lot to go.

I still love my Frenchy. However, there are some pocket issues. I took it to work with me last night. I made a few stops on the way and had the darndest time finding my stuff inside. The pockets don't work. My next Frenchy is getting ONE pocket. And that might be too many. It could quite possibly only need a small pocket. Could there be a third Frenchy in my furture?

oh, I'd still appreciate the crossing of all body parts - human or other. The suspense is killing me!!

Yup. I ran out

That's right. I ran out of yarn on the second sleeve of the VK sweater. Now what should I do? oh yeah, maybe like 10 more T.S. sweaters! haha. I guess I know what I'll be bringing to work tonight - Eco Wool wonderland.

In the meantime, I'm headed out to M&J for some trimmings for said VK sweater. This is no plain sweater! I'm pretty happy so far with the it. It's a bit on the small side! oops. I hope the model is thin. I have some cleaning up to do with the fair isle. I knit the sleeve in the round on dpn's so the fair isle is a little wonky. I think a wet soak and some nice blocking should calm it down. I love the way it looks on the dress form! I hope it looks like that on a live person.

I'm still LOVING my Frenchy bag. I'm looking forward to making another one. I purchased other fabric from Purl online for the second one. It's just sitting here patiently waiting for me!!!! I think I need a few more sweaters under my belt before I can indulge myself.

Please keep all the body parts crossed today : ) Thanks!

I give you Frenchy!!

This is the Amy Butler pattern that I bought the other day at Purl Patchwork! I had my sewing class today. I was at a point in my sewing project where I needed to wait until next week. I conveniently received some fabric today from Purl online that I bought with Frenchy in mind. And since my sewing maching was all set up...I decided to give Frenchy a try. Well, here it is just a few hours later. I LOVE IT! The directions are super easy. The fabric was great to work with. I think the best thing that I did was use a medium/heavy weight interfacing. It really makes this bag take great shape. I T o t a l l y L o ve I t ! ! !

YIPPEE!!



This is the lining. I've trimmed those loose ends! The pattern has 2 big pockets. I might only do one pocket next time. I'll decide after I use it!

No sheep for Me : (

Well, I didn't get to go to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. I REALLY wanted to go. However, in the end, I just couldn't do it. I was afraid that I might be too tired to drive back. So I researched the train which would have worked but I had to go to the train straight from work. And the cost seemed a little indulgent. At 5am on sunday morning I decided not to go. I was sad. Instead I knit a T.S. sweater. I guess it's better to make money than to spend it on things I don't really need.

Today, I took photos of all of the yarn in my stash that I want to unload. I put some on ebay and some on craigslist. I've never done either before. I can't believe that people are actively looking for yarn online but maybe...It would be nice to let go of some of this. I'm feeling indulgent. I don't really keep unfinished projects around and don't really want to keep unused yarn around. I've changed my knitting habits and I don't want to just consume yarn and never use it. If I need it I want to go and buy it. Project specific.

I went to orientation tonight for LaGuardia. It's a huge school but pretty manageable. It seems to all make sense. Everyone is super nice. Next saturday is the placement exams. After that the next communication is the week before school starts in September. So I would say that this is the last free summer for about 4 years. Maybe ever.

I think I'm going to run out of yarn on the sleeves for the VK project. Crap. Now I'll have to wait for more yarn. I was hoping to finish them tonight. Oh well. I guess I'll start another TS sweater...

Nothing to show -

I've finished the body of the fair isle sweater that I was working on for VK. It looks BEAUTIFUL! I'm really, really pleased with the way that it's turned out. I haven't blocked it yet but it's pinned up on my dress form. I have to add pockets and some trim to the neckline. Plus I have to knit up the sleeves. But I'm really happy with it. It's not due for a l o n g time so I'm going to take a breather. (I probably won't but I'm going to try!)

I have so many Tom Scott pieces to knit up. They are due in about a month. I really ought to start but I just can't yet. Winding the yarn is exhausting!! There is so much yardage on each skein of the Eco Wool.

I got an email from my sewing teacher last Saturday telling me that there was a sale on the Vogue website on their patterns. Well I browsed and browsed and order 3 patterns. They arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that they are all ADVANCED patterns. uh oh! I've also orders some other patterns from who knows where but I keep getting those little notices saying that my order has shipped...I think when I wake up after working a few nights in a row I check my mail and then surf a little and buy a little. Then I forget all about it. Thank goodness I've only been ordering fabric and patterns! I ordered some amazing SALE fabrics from Purl online. I can't wait to see what they actually look like. The great thing about Purl is that you can buy partial yardage. Nice.

I'm working tonight and tomorrow night. I'm HOPEFULLY going to MDSW on Sunday. It's going to depend on how tired I am. I don't want to kill myself or anyone else on the road. I really, really, really want to go. So I'm sure I will : )

There is some crossing of fingers, toes, and all crossable body parts in my house this week. It's got nothing to do with anything knitting, sewing, bartending related but it's really, really important. I can't talk about it. I can barely breathe. It's HUGE. I have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday for the good (or not so good) news. So if you have any available parts to cross, please cross them. and think positive thoughts. Thanks!!

I hope I have some MDSW news to post next time.

Have an excellent Friday.

Fair Isle CleanUp

I can't show the front but there's no harm with the back, right?

I've decided to weave in my ends before I get this off the needles. I hate having all of those loose ends waving around and getting in my way.




Since I've knit this in one piece I only have about 2" left to the neck bo then the armholes and voila. I'll be done in no time. Maybe tonight at work? There is still some fair isle left. So ideally I will get that done before work. The great news is that there isn't any fair isle at the top after the neck bo. So this should go super fast. I have to do the math for that part still but um. Well, we'll see. The great news is that once I'm done - I'm done!

Finished!

I finished this jacket in my sewing class today. Frogs and all. I just have to go over it and cut all of the the loose threads. I'm also going to add snaps under the frogs so that they don't come apart. I noticed that because it's not skin tight whenever I bend forward or move around the frogs come apart. (Thanks Pearl River!) Whatever, I have clear snaps in my knitting bag and it will take two seconds to sew them on.



This isn't anything that I would purchase in a store but I actually kind of like it. I like the length and I like the curve of the bottom (which is not visible in this crappy photo). The sleeves are 3/4 because of something studpid that I did. However, if I wear this to work 3/4 is perfect.

I now have to find my next project by tuesday. hmmmmmmm!

*Knit, Rip* Repeat

I'm exactly where I was yesterday. I thought that I was going to go up a needle size but then decided against it. So I've actually re-knit the same 7" with the same needle with the same yarn. Seems like a waste of time? Although, somehow this knitting looks better. I don't know. I might just want it to look better.



I've worked the fair isle pattern on my graph paper. I think I'm ready to start. Given the way this has been going, I better re-check my row gauge before I dive in.